Apparatuses, systems and methods for concealing floor safes and other containers

ABSTRACT

A cover for concealing the identity of a container, such as a safe, is configured to be positioned over the container. The cover may have the appearance of another item or group of items, such as a less valuable item that may be found in the environment where the container is kept (e.g., a freezer, a cabinet, a collection of tools, etc., in a garage; etc.). The cover may include an access portion, or panel, that lifts to reveal a door or other entry point of the container. The access portion may be configured to rest atop the container, which may eliminate the need for further manipulation while the inside and any contents within the container are accessed.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

A claim for the benefit of priority to the Feb. 4, 2014 filing date ofU.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/935,339, titled APPARATUSES,SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CONCEALING FLOOR SAFES AND OTHER CONTAINERS(“the '339 Provisional Application”) is hereby made pursuant to 35U.S.C. §119(e). A claim for the benefit of priority to the Sep. 29, 2014filing date of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/057,141,titled APPARATUSES, SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CONCEALING FLOOR SAFES ANDOTHER CONTAINERS (“the '141 Provisional Application”) is hereby madepursuant to 35 U.S.C. §119(e). The entire disclosure of each of the '483Provisional Application and the '141 Provisional Application is herebyincorporated herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to covers for containers and, morespecifically, to covers for safes. In particular, this disclosurerelates to covers for hiding the identities of safes and othercontainers.

RELATED ART

Individual consumers purchase safes for a variety of reasons, including,without limitation, to securely store valuables, documents, guns andother items. Safes that accommodate guns are typically quite large, andoccupy a substantial amount of floor space.

Gun safes are often kept in workshops, garages and other locations thatmay be readily visible from outside of the residence or other buildingin which the safes are stored, often enabling others to readily discoverthe precise location of the safe within the building. Thus, althoughspace considerations may necessitate the placement of a floor safe in aworkshop, garage or another location that is readily perceptible toothers, such placement also partially defeats the primary purpose of thesafe—security.

SUMMARY

A cover according to this disclosure is configured to be placed over atleast portions of a safe to at least partially conceal the safe. Invarious embodiments, at least a portion of the cover is configured to beplaced over the door of a safe. The cover may be configured to bepositioned over one or more distinctive features that make the containerreadily identifiable; for example, features that typically appear on asafe door, such as indicia on the safe (e.g., a brand name, logo, etc.,that appears on the door of the safe), a locking mechanism, a handle orthe like. The cover may include a design (e.g., an image, etc.) thatmakes the safe appear to be some other item and, thus, to provide anadded level of concealment.

In some embodiments, a cover may also be configured for placement overother surfaces of a safe, such as some or all of the top of the safe,one or both sides of the safe and even the back, or rear, of the safe. Acover for a safe may be configured to cover the top of the safe, bothsides of the safe and the front of the safe. A portion, or panel, of thecover that is configured to be positioned over a door of the safe (e.g.,on the front of the safe, etc.) may be configured to be at leastpartially removed from the safe to provide access to the door, whileremaining portions, or panels, of the cover (e.g., those that areconfigured to be positioned over the top, back and sides of the safe,etc.) may be configured to remain in place over their correspondingsurfaces of the safe. Such a portion or panel may be referred to as a“concealment portion” or a “concealment panel,” or as an “accessportion” or an “access panel.”

In a specific embodiment, a cover may include a top panel, two sidepanels that are secured to and extend downward from side edges of thetop panel. In some embodiments, the front panel may be secured to andextend downward from a front edge of the top panel, but may not besecured to the front edge of either side panel of the cover. In otherembodiments, the front panel may be secured to and extend from a frontedge of one of the side panels, but not from the front edge of theopposite side panel or from the front edge of the top panel. Such acover may also include one or more securing elements. When concealmentof a safe is desired, the securing element(s) may hold the front panelof the cover in place over the front of the safe and, thus, may hold itsunsecured side and/or top edge(s) in place adjacent to theircorresponding front edges of the top and/or side panel(s) of the cover.Optionally, such a cover may also include a back panel that is securedto and extends downward from a rear edge of the top panel and is securedto and extends laterally from rear edges of the side panels of thecover.

Such a cover may be configured to protect the safe. Without limitation,a cover may be made with a material that is resistant to fire and/ormoisture, and may provide thermal insulation. Such a cover may impart orenhance the fire-resistance and/or heat-resistance of a safe, as well asimpart the safe with resistance to water or other types of moisture.

A cover according to this disclosure may be also be used to concealitems other than safes, including, but not limited to, other securitycontainers, tool boxes, cabinets, filing cabinets, freezers,refrigerators or other containers.

Methods for securely storing items and methods for concealing containersinclude positioning a cover over features of a container that make thecontainer identifiable as such. Placement of a cover over distinctivefeatures may conceal the identity of the container, especially frompassersby and others who do not need to access the contents of thecontainer. Without limitation, such a method may include placing a coverover at least a front surface of the container to conceal the frontsurface. Portions of the cover may also be placed at least partiallyover other surfaces of the container (e.g., top, side and/or backsurfaces, etc.). Placement of the cover may include one or more securingelements, which may hold the cover or portions thereof in place over acovered container. In some embodiments, in addition to concealing one ormore distinctive features of the container, the cover may include one ormore designs that impart the cover, and the container over which thecover is placed, with the appearance of something else (e.g., one ormore other items that are often found in the place (e.g., workshop,garage, etc.) where the container is stored, etc.).

In another aspect, concealed storage systems are disclosed. A concealedstorage system may include a container, such as a safe, a tool chest, acabinet or the like and a cover that conceals the container. In someembodiments, the cover may have the appearance of another item (e.g., aless valuable item, etc.) or collection of items, such as arefrigerator, a freezer, shelves, tools hanging from a wall, a cabinetor virtually any other item that might be found in the environment wherethe container is kept.

When access to the inside of the container is desired, the cover, or aportion thereof, may be pulled away, or removed, from the surface overwhich it was positioned to reveal a door or other opening for thecontainer. In embodiments where one or more portions of the cover arealso positioned over one or more other surfaces of the container, orover portions of the other surface(s), those portions of the cover mayremain in place. The container may then be opened to provide access tothe interior of the container. Once access to the interior of thecontainer is no longer needed, the container may be closed and the coveror the portion thereof that was removed may be repositioned and securedin place to again conceal the container.

Other aspects, as well as features and advantages of various aspects, ofthe disclosed subject matter will become apparent to those of ordinaryskill in the art through consideration of the ensuing description, theaccompanying drawings and the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a cover according tothis disclosure, in place over a container, such as a floor safe, toconceal the container and cover a door or other opening thereof;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the embodiment of cover shown in FIG. 1,illustrating some interior features of the cover;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the embodiment of cover shown in FIG. 1,with a portion of the cover positioned to reveal a door or other openingof the container on which the cover has been placed;

FIG. 4 illustrates another embodiment of cover; and

FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate embodiments of covers bearing differentdesigns.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

With reference to FIGS. 1 through 3, an embodiment of a cover 10 for acontainer 50, such as a floor safe (e.g., a gun safe, etc.), a toolbox,a cabinet, a filing cabinet, or the like, is depicted. At least anaccess portion 20 of the cover 10 may be configured to be positionedover one or more distinguishing features 52, 54, etc., of the container50 (seen in FIG. 3), and/or over at least a portion of a surface 60 ofthe container 50 by or through which access to an interior of thecontainer 50 is obtained. In the depicted, non-limiting embodiment ofthe cover 10, the surface 60 over which the access portion 20 of thecover 10 is configured to be placed comprises the door of a floor safe.

In addition to including a portion that covers at least a portion of acontainer 50 that includes distinguishing features 52, 54, etc., or thatincludes a surface 60 by or through which an interior of the container50 may be accessed, a cover 10 according to this disclosure may includeone or more portions that cover part or all of one or more othersurfaces (not shown) of the container 50. In the depicted embodiment,the cover 20 includes a top portion 24 configured to cover a top surface(not shown) of the container 50 and side portions 26 configured to coverside surfaces (not shown) of the container 50. Optionally, the cover 10may include a back portion 28, which may be configured to cover all orpart of (e.g., an uppermost portion of, etc.) a back surface (not shown)of the container 50. In the illustrated embodiment, the top portion 24,side portions 26 and optional back portion 28 of the cover 10 comprisepanels that are secured to (e.g., sewn together, etc.) or continuouswith one another.

The dimensions, shapes and arrangement of the top portion 24, sideportions 26 and/or optional back portion 28 of the cover 10 may hold thecover 10 in place over a container 50 with which the cover 10 isdesigned to be used. In addition, a cover 10 may include one or morefeatures, or “securing elements” 30, that hold the cover 10 or one ormore portions thereof in place over one or more corresponding portionsof the container 50. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, one or more securingelements 30 may be positioned along one or more of the front edge 24 fand or the rear edge 24 r of the top portion 24 (FIG. 1) and the frontedge 26 f of one or both side portions 26 (FIG. 2) of the cover 10. In aspecific, but non-limiting embodiment, each securing element 30 maycomprise a magnet (e.g., an elongated magnet, a series of smallermagnets, etc.). In another specific embodiment, securing elements 30positioned along the rear edge 24 r of the top portion 24 may beconfigured to mechanically engage or be mechanically engaged bycorresponding features along the rear top edge of a container 50 (e.g.,eyelets and hooks, complementary snaps, etc.).

In the embodiment of cover 10 depicted by FIGS. 1 through 3, the accessportion 20 may be secured to (e.g., sewn to, hingedly secured to, etc.)or continuous with a front edge 24 f of the top portion 24 of the cover10. In such an embodiment, the access portion 20 may, as depicted byFIGS. 1 and 2, be permitted to cover (e.g., hang down over, etc.) thesurface 60 of the container it is configured to conceal or, as shown inFIG. 3, the access portion 20 may be folded, rolled or otherwiseoriented to reveal the surface 60 and, thus, to provide access to thesurface 60. In embodiments where the access portion 20 of the cover 10is configured to be lifted, it may rest upon the top of the container 50while providing access to the container 50 (i.e., to one or more doors,drawers or other access features thereof). Thus, the access portion 20may provide access to the container 50 without requiring furthermanipulation (e.g., securing, holding, movement, etc.) while accessingthe container 50. In addition, by lifting upward, the access portion 20may provide access to and accommodate opening and closing of doors,drawers and other features that open from a variety of differentdirections and/or in a variety of different ways (e.g., doors with leftside hinges, doors with right side hinges, doors are configured to tiltopen, drawers that slide open, etc.).

The cover 10 may include one or more securing elements 21 associatedwith the access portion 20. Each securing element 21 may be configuredto secure the access portion 20 of the cover 10 in place relative toappropriate portions of the cover 10 or to the container 50. When theaccess portion 20 of the cover 10 is positioned over its correspondingsurface 60 of the container 50, each securing element 21 will bepositioned adjacent to an appropriate portion of the cover 10 and, thus,may secure the access portion 20 in place relative to adjacent portionsof the cover (e.g., to areas of the side portions 26 located adjacent tothe front edges 26 f of the side portions 26, etc.) or to the container50 itself (either directly or through another portion of the cover).Without limitation, each securing element 21 may comprise a magnet,which may be oriented in a manner that enables it to be secured to acorresponding securing element 30 that holds another portion of thecover 10 to the container 50, or in such a way that the securing element21 may “stick” to the container 50.

In some embodiments, lateral extensions 22 l and 22 r may be secured toor are continuous with corresponding side edges 20 l and 20 r of theaccess portion 20. Each lateral extension 22 may be configured to extendbackwards from its corresponding side edge 20 l, 20 r of the accessportion 20. When the access portion 20 is positioned over itscorresponding surface 60 of the container 50, the lateral extensions 22may extend partially over opposite surfaces of the container 50 (e.g.,sides 26, etc.) that are adjacent to surface 60, and may overlapportions of the cover 10 (e.g., the front edges 26 f and adjacent areasof side portions 26, etc.). Thus, when the cover 10 is oriented in themanner depicted by FIG. 1, the lateral extensions 22 may eliminate gapsbetween the access portion 20 and adjacent portions of the cover (e.g.,side portions 26, etc.) and further conceal the container 50.

A cover 10 that includes lateral extensions 22 extending backwards fromits access panel 20 may include one or more securing elements 21 carriedby each lateral extension 22. More specifically, a securing element 21may be positioned adjacent to a rear edge of a lateral extension 22, andmay secure the lateral extension 22 in place over its corresponding sideportion 26 of the cover 10.

The cover 10, or at least portions thereof, such as the access portion20, may be formed from a pliable material, such as a fabric. Someexamples of fabrics that may be used to make a cover 10 include, withoutlimitation, nylon and nylon-based fabrics, such as those marked underthe CORDURA® trademark by Invista of Wichita, Kans. Other embodiments ofmaterials that may be used to form a cover 10 include, but are notlimited to, plastics, plastic-based films or sheets and the like. Insome embodiments, including, but not limited to, embodiments where acover 10 is configured to cover the top, sides and rear of a container(e.g., a floor safe, a portable safe, a lock box, etc.) and, optionally,the bottom of the container, the cover 10 may be formed from afire-resistant material, a thermally insulating material, awater-resistant material or any other material with desired properties.In a specific embodiment, the material from which a cover 10 is made maybe configured to prevent a container 50, such as a safe, over which thecover 10 is positioned from being exposed to fire or other hightemperature sources, as well as to moisture, while providing thermalinsulation. More specifically, such a material may include a thermalinsulator positioned, or sandwiched, between inner and outer layers. Thethermal insulator may comprise spun fiberglass or a so-called “mineralwool” insulation (e.g., that marketed as THERMAFIBER® insulation byCertainTeed Corporation of Valley Forge, Pa., etc.). The inner and outerlayers may comprise a fire-resistant material, such as a wovenfiberglass material, coated in or impregnated with a water-resistantmaterial (e.g., a polymer, such as a fire rated silicone; etc.). Amaterial that has fire-resistant, water-resistant and thermallyinsulative properties may be particularly useful for embodiments ofcovers 10 that are designed to completely cover the top, front, sidesand rear surfaces of a container 50 and, when positioned over thecontainer, may protect the container 50 and its contents from waterdamage, fire damage and/or thermal damage.

Turning now to FIGS. 5 and 6, some embodiments of a cover 10′, 10″ mayinclude a design 12′, 12″. The design 12′, 12″ may be configured toimpart a container 50 (FIG. 3) with the appearance of one or more otherobjects, such as a refrigerator (FIG. 4) or a collection of items thatare typically found in a garage (FIG. 5) (e.g., gardening tools, etc.).Alternatively, a design may be decorative. Examples of decorativedesigns include, but are not limited to, camouflage patterns, logos,images and the like.

With returned reference to FIGS. 1 through 3, a cover 10 may be used toconceal a container 50, such as a floor safe, a toolbox, a cabinet, afile cabinet or the like, or a portion thereof. The cover 10, or aportion of the cover 10 (e.g., an access portion 20, etc.), may bepositioned at least partially over one or more distinguishing features52 of the container 50 and/or over at least a portion of a surface 60 byor through which access to an interior of the container 50 is accessed.One or more securing elements 30 may engage the container 50 or (a)corresponding feature(s) on or of the container 50 to at least partiallyhold the cover 10 in place over its corresponding surface(s) of thecontainer 50. With the cover 10 in place, the identity of the container50 may be at least partially concealed. In embodiments where the cover10 includes a design 12′, 12″ (FIGS. 4 and 5), the design 12′, 12″ mayfurther conceal the identity of the container 50.

When access to the interior of the container 50 is desired, the cover 10or a portion thereof (e.g., the access portion 20, etc.) may be at leastpartially removed from the container 50 to expose an area of thecontainer 50 by or through which such access may be obtained. In theembodiment depicted by FIGS. 1 through 3, and as shown in FIG. 3, one ormore securing elements 21 on the access portion 20 may be released andthe access portion 20 may be lifted and, optionally, simultaneouslyfolded or rolled to reveal a surface 60 by or through which the interiorof the container 50 may be accessed. The container 50 may then be openedto provide access to its interior 56.

Once access to the interior 56 of the container 50 is no longer needed,the container 50 may be closed and the cover 10, or a portion thereof,may be replaced over at least a portion of the container 50 tore-conceal it.

With reference to FIG. 4, another embodiment of cover 110 isillustrated. Cover 110 is configured to be positioned over and tocompletely conceal a single surface 60 (FIG. 3) of a container 50 (FIG.3), while merely engaging portions of other surfaces of the container50. More specifically, the cover 110 shown in FIG. 4 includes aconcealment panel 120 with a top attachment strip 124 and a pair of sideattachment strips 126.

The top attachment strip 124 may include a central portion 124 c that iscontinuous with or secured to (e.g., sewn to, etc.) a top edge of theconcealment panel 120. When the concealment panel 120 is positioned overa surface 60 (FIG. 3) of a container 50 (FIG. 3) (e.g., a door of asafe, etc.), the central portion 124 c of the top attachment strip 124may fold over onto a portion of an adjacent surface of the container 50(e.g., onto a portion of a top edge of a safe, etc.). Securing elements21 on the central portion 124 c of the top attachment strip 124 (e.g.,magnets, etc.) may secure the central portion 124 c to its correspondingsurface of the container 50.

The top attachment strip 124 may additionally include end flaps 124 e onopposite sides of the central portion 124 c. Each end flap 124 e may beconfigured to extend beyond an edge of the surface of the container 50over which the central portion 124 c of the top attachment strip isconfigured to be positioned. Accordingly, each end flap 124 e may beconfigured to fold over onto another surface of the container 50, whichsurface may be adjacent to both the surface 60 (FIG. 3) over which theconcealment panel 120 is positioned and the adjacent surface to whichthe central portion 124 c of the top attachment strip 124 has beensecured (e.g., a front, top portion of a side of a safe, etc.). Each endflap 124 e may be secured in place to the container 60 by one or moresuitable securing elements 21. When the cover 110 is laid flat—theorientation shown in FIG. 3—each end flap 124 e may be positionedadjacent to, but be separate from, the top edge of a corresponding sideattachment strip 126.

The side attachment strips 126 may, as depicted by FIG. 4, be located onopposite sides of the concealment panel 120 of the cover 110. Each sideattachment strip 126 may comprise a side portion of the concealmentpanel 120, or it may be secured to (e.g., sewn to, etc.) a correspondingside edge of the concealment panel 120. In any event, when theconcealment panel 120 is positioned over a surface 60 (FIG. 3) of acontainer 50 (FIG. 3) (e.g., a door of a safe, etc.), each sideattachment strip 126 may be folded over onto a portion of an adjacentsurface of the container (e.g., onto a front portion of a correspondingside surface of the safe, etc.). One or more suitable securing elements21 may secure each side attachment strip 126 to its correspondingsurface of the container 50.

Collectively, the top attachment strip 124 and the side attachmentstrips 126 may secure the cover 110 to a container 50 (FIG. 3), andsecure the concealment panel 120 of the cover 110 in place over thesurface 60 (FIG. 3) of the container 50. In some embodiments, the cover110 may include a design, like those illustrated by FIGS. 5 and 6, whichmay, in some embodiments, impart a container 50 with the appearance ofone or more other items, which may further conceal the container 50.

In some embodiments, a cover may lack a top or sides. Such a cover maysimply comprise a single panel that has a shape and dimensions thatenable it to cover and conceal the identity of one surface (e.g., adoor, etc.) of a container, as well as securing elements for holding thepanel in place on the surface of the container.

Although the foregoing description sets forth many specifics, theseshould not be construed as limiting the scope of any of the claims, butmerely as providing illustrations of some embodiments and variations ofelements or features of the disclosed subject matter. Other embodimentsof the disclosed subject matter may be devised which do not depart fromthe spirit or scope of any of the claims. Features from differentembodiments may be employed in combination. Accordingly, the scope ofeach claim is limited only by its plain language and the legalequivalents thereto.

What is claimed:
 1. A cover for a container, comprising: a concealmentportion for concealing an identity of a container, the concealmentportion comprising a pliable material and configured to be positionedover at least one of: a distinguishing feature of the container; and asurface by or through an interior of the container is accessible; a topportion configured to be positioned over a top surface of the container,a front edge of the top portion secured to or continuous with a top edgeof the concealment portion; side portions on opposite sides of theconcealment portion and configured to be placed adjacent to sidesurfaces of the container, a top edge of each side portion secured to orcontinuous with a corresponding side edge of the top portion; and a backportion configured to be placed adjacent to a back surface of thecontainer, a top edge of the back portion secured to or continuous witha rear edge of the top portion, each side edge of the back portionsecured to or continuous with a rear edge of a corresponding sideportion.
 2. The cover of claim 1, wherein the concealment portion isconfigured to be rolled or folded.
 3. The cover of claim 1, furthercomprising: at least one securing element for securing the cover to thecontainer.
 4. The cover of claim 3, wherein the at least one securingelement is located at a front edge of the top portion.
 5. The cover ofclaim 3, wherein at least one securing element is located at a frontedge of each side portion.
 6. The cover of claim 3, wherein at least onesecuring element is located adjacent to each side edge of theconcealment portion.
 7. The cover of claim 6, wherein the at least onesecuring element located adjacent to each side edge of the concealmentportion is configured to secure the side edge to a corresponding sideportion.
 8. The cover of claim 1, further comprising: a design on atleast the concealment portion.
 9. The cover of claim 8, wherein thedesign further conceals the identity of the container.
 10. The cover ofclaim 9, wherein the design imparts the cover with an appearance of atleast one object other than the container.
 11. The cover of claim 1,wherein the concealment portion, the top portion, the side portions andthe back portion are formed from a material that is fire-resistant,water-resistant and/or thermally insulative.
 12. A cover for acontainer, comprising: a concealment portion for concealing an identityof a container, the concealment portion configured to be positioned overat least one of: a distinguishing feature of the container; and asurface by or through an interior of the container is accessible, theconcealment portion comprising a pliable material.
 13. The cover ofclaim 12, further comprising: a top portion configured to be positionedover a top surface of the container, a front edge of the top portionsecured to or continuous with a top edge of the concealment portion. 14.The cover of claim 12, further comprising: a pair of side portions onopposite sides of the concealment portion and configured to be placedadjacent to side surfaces of the container.
 15. The cover of claim 14,wherein a first side edge of the concealment portion is secured to orcontinuous with a front edge of a first side portion of the pair of sideportions and a second side edge of the concealment portion is separatefrom a front edge of a second side portion of the pair of side portions.16. The cover of claim 15, further comprising: at least one securingelement at or adjacent to the second side edge of the concealmentportion to enable the second side edge to be selectively secured inplace relative to the front edge of the second side portion.
 17. Thecover of claim 12, further comprising: a pair of lateral extensions, alateral extension of the pair extending backward beyond each side edgeof the concealment portion.
 18. The cover of claim 17, furthercomprising: at least one securing element at or adjacent to a rear edgeof each lateral extension of the pair of lateral extensions to enablethe second side edge to be selectively secured in place relative to thecontainer.
 19. The cover of claim 17, further comprising: at least onedesign on the concealment portion and the pair of lateral extensions.20. The cover of claim 19, wherein the at least one design is configuredto further conceal the identity of the container.
 21. A method forsecurely storing items, comprising: placing at least one valuable itemin a container; and concealing an outer appearance of the container. 22.The method of claim 21, wherein concealing the outer appearance of thecontainer comprises placing a cover over the container.
 23. The methodof claim 22, wherein placing the cover over the container comprisesplacing a cover with an appearance of another item over the container.24. The method of claim 22, further comprising: lifting a front panel ofthe cover away from a front of the container to reveal the container;and resting the front panel of the cover on top of the container.